OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL-THURSDAY-26/05/2016-BEWARE OF PRIDE-BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
BEWARE OF PRIDE
Memorise
Pride
goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18
Read
1st Peter 5:5-6,
5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto
the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with
humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty
hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
KJV
MESSAGE
Our
topic for today is a warning to be very careful of pride. Pride is a giant
killer that has turned many great men and woman of God to mere casualties.
Pride is the first and foremost of the traditional seven deadly sins, perhaps
because it is in many ways the root of other sins. Even the “original sin” of
Adam and Eve was not mere disobedience, but at the heart of it was pride,
quietly lurking in a corner. The fact that Adam and Eve wanted to be like God,
reveals a form of hidden pride. Ironically, eating the forbidding fruit led to
the opening of their eyes, increasing them in knowledge and wisdom. It turned
their attention away from God and they became focused on their outward
appearance. They immediately developed the ability, confidence and independence
to decide and act on their own without any recourse to God their maker. This is
the same fatal foolishness that has plagued the human race ever since.
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for
food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make
one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her
husband with her; and he did eat.”
Pride has
been correctly identified by many as the greatest woe which can quickly destroy
anyone captured by it. I usually tell my children that apart from impure
thoughts and cravings of the body, another area in which you must exert your
victory over the flesh is pride. A proud person is always in contention –
fighting with those he thinks he is better than; such a fellow will do
everything to show that he is better than others. The proud is always in
competition with those who appear better off, just to prove a point that he or
she is superior. In doing this, the proud will make derogatory statements about
such people and cut them to size just to show that he knows it better or can do
it better.
The proud
finds it difficult to acknowledge the sincere work or effort of others because
he thinks such will displace him from being on top. The proud sees himself as
being number one in all things. Apart from contending with men, the proud also
contend s with God. Anyone who is proud or haughty and is speaking so much
about God is only a pretender. By reason of their contention with God, they
have enthroned themselves as number one in their own lives, making God their
running mate. Are you finding it difficult to recognize the efforts of those
that are better than you in certain areas? You are simply proud.
Psalms 73:6 says some people are compassed with pride. This
implies that it is possible for pride to be visibly glaring in the life of
someone that is full of it. You can be clothed in pride just as you can be
clothed in humility. You can be clothed in pride just as you can be clothed in
humility. You can identify a proud person from his or her looks, carriage,
dressing, speech, behaviour, giving, prayer, Christian service, work, attitude,
etc. Unfortunately, Isaiah 13:11 says that the same reason which makes
the proud fellow haughty is the same reason that will make him fall. Every
proud individual is headed for a fall and proud people end up being destroyed (Proverbs
16:18). Some people are proud but they don’t know it. If you exalt yourself
by your words and conduct, you shall be abased (Matthew 23:12). James
4:6 speaks of something quite frightening: it says God resists the proud
which confirms that God is always contending with the proud, is there pride in
your heart? Ask God to forgive and uproot every trace of pride from your life
today.
Prayer point
Father, please remove the
spirit of pride from my life this moment in Jesus’ name.
Bible in one year
1st Chronicles
25-27, Proverbs 29:22-30:6
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